About This Masters Degree

Course Description

The Kent LLM (and associated Diploma programme) allows you to broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of law by specialising in one or more different areas.

This specialisation is designed for people who already work, or intend to work, within the criminal justice system, whether for the police, probation service, prison service or other organisations, or those with an interest in such matters. It covers criminal law and procedure in the UK, internationally and comparatively. It examines criminal justice systems from a range of perspectives, including the management of organisations, human rights, the psychological and sociological causes of criminal behaviour and social and economic perspectives.

There is close co-operation with the MA in Criminology run by the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research. Students on the LLM and MA can take modules from both programmes. Criminology has specialists in many areas including criminological theory, research methods, youth crime, gender, cultural criminology and terrorism.

Studying for a Master's in Law (LLM) at Kent means having the certainty of gaining an LLM in a specialist area of Law. The Kent LLM gives you the freedom to leave your choice of specialism open until after you arrive, your specialism being determined by the modules you choose.

About Kent Law School

Kent Law School (KLS) is the UK's leading critical law school. A cosmopolitan centre of world-class critical legal research, it offers a supportive and intellectually stimulating place to study postgraduate taught and research degrees.

In addition to learning the detail of the law, students at Kent are taught to think about the law with regard to its history, development and relationship with wider society. This approach allows students to fully understand the law. Our critical approach not only makes the study of law more interesting, it helps to develop crucial skills and abilities required for a career in legal practice.

The Law School offers its flagship Kent LLM at the University’s Canterbury campus (and two defined LLM programmes at the University’s Brussels centre). Our programmes are open to non-law graduates with an appropriate academic or professional background who wish to develop an advanced understanding of law in their field. You study within a close-knit, supportive and intellectually stimulating environment, working closely with academic staff. KLS uses critical research-led teaching throughout our programmes to ensure that you benefit from the Law School’s world-class research.

Course structure

You can tailor your studies to your particular needs and interests to obtain an LLM or Diploma in Law in a single specialisation, in two specialisations jointly, or by choosing a broad range of modules in different areas of law to obtain a general LLM or Diploma in Law.

Your choice of specialisation will be shaped by the modules you take and your dissertation topic. To be awarded an LLM in a single specialisation, at least three of your six modules must be chosen from those associated with that specialisation and your dissertation focusing on that area of law. The other three modules can be chosen from any offered in the Law School. All students are required to take the Legal Research and Writing Skills module. To be awarded a major/minor specialisation you choose three modules associated with one specialisation, and three from another specialisation, with the dissertation determining your 'major' specialisation.

For example, a student who completes at least three modules in International Commercial Law and completes a dissertation in this area would graduate with an LLM in International Commercial Law; a student who completes three Criminal Justice modules and three Environmental Law modules and then undertakes a dissertation which engages with Criminal Justice would graduate with an LLM in Criminal Justice and Environmental Law.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of this specialisation stream. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation and student demand. Most specialisation streams will require you to study a combination of subject specialisation modules and modules from other specialisation streams so that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas that interest you.

LW871 Policing

LW846 International Criminal Law

LW886 Transnational Criminal Law

LW924 European Union Criminal Law and Procedure

Assessment

The postgraduate programmes offered within the Law School are usually taught in seminar format. Students on the Diploma and LLM programmes study three modules in each of the autumn and spring terms. The modules normally are assessed by a 4-5,000-word essay. Students undertaking an LLM degree must write a dissertation of 15-20,000 words.

Programme aims

This programme aims to provide:

1. LLM: The opportunity to develop (a) expert knowledge and a sophisticated understanding of particular areas of law; (b) advanced research, writing and oral communication skills of general value to postgraduate employment. PGDip: The opportunity to develop (a) expert knowledge and a sophisticated understanding of particular areas of law; (b) written and oral communication skills of general value to postgraduate employment.

2. LLM: A sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the institutional structures, key principles of law and policy and influential ideas, theories, assumptions and paradigms of particular areas of law. PGDip: A sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the institutional structures, key principles of law and policy and influential ideas, theories, assumptions and paradigms of the subjects studied.

3. LLM & PGDip: A degree of specialisation in areas of law and policy chosen from the LLM option streams available and an opportunity for students to engage with academic work at the frontiers of scholarship.

4. LLM & PGDip: A critical awareness of the operation of law and policy, particularly in contexts that are perceived to be controversial or in a state of evolution.

5. LLM: The skills to undertake supervised research on an agreed topic in their specialisation and to encourage the production of original, evaluative analysis that meets high standards of scholarship.

6. LLM & PGDip: Critical, analytical and problem-solving skills that can be applied to a wide range of contexts.

7. LLM & PGDip: The skills of academic legal research and writing.

8. LLM: A sophisticated grounding in research methods.

Careers

Employability is a key focus throughout the University and at Kent Law School you have the support of a dedicated Employability and Career Development Officer together with a broad choice of work placement opportunities, employability events and careers talks. Details of graduate internship schemes with NGOs, charities and other professional organisations are made available to postgraduate students via the School’s Employability Blog.

Many students at our Brussels centre who undertake internships are offered contracts in Brussels immediately after graduation. Others have joined their home country’s diplomatic service, entered international organisations, or have chosen to undertake a ‘stage’ at the European Commission, or another EU institution.

Law graduates have gone on to careers in finance, international commerce, government and law or have joined, or started, an NGO or charity.

Kent has an excellent record for postgraduate employment: over 94% of our postgraduate students who graduated in 2013 found a job or further study opportunity within six months.

For entry in September 2016Kent Law School offers a limited number of scholarships to students who are liable to pay overseas students’ fees. The scholarships are open to all overseas applicants on the Kent LLM programme at the Canterbury campus.The Taught Masters Overseas Scholarship will provide tuition fees at the full overseas rate (£12,890 in 2015/16) along with living expenses (equivalent to £14,057 in 2015/16). The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence.The closing date for applications is Monday 14 March 2016. A decision will be taken as soon as possible after the closing date. Candidates who have not been contacted by 31 May 2016 can assume that they have not been successful

Value of Scholarship(s)

£12,890 (in 2015/16)

Eligibility

The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence.

Application Procedure

An application should make a case for the award of the scholarship to the applicant. The case for the award of a scholarship should be between 1000 and 1500 words and should:Describe the applicant's academic achievements and performance in university studiesDiscuss the applicant's reasons for wishing to study for the Kent LLMOutline the applicant's financial circumstances, indicating in particular whether the scholarship will make a difference to the feasibility of studying at the University of Kent. All applicants are required to indicate how they intend to pay for living expenses and all other costs during their postgraduate studiesFurther, students are asked to submit one piece of academic writing. This could be either a piece of coursework previously submitted for assessment at the applicant's previous institution or it could be a 2,000 word essay written for this application on a topic of the applicant’s choosing.Applicants are reminded to ensure that their academic referees have submitted full references in support of their LLM application for a place on the programme. A separate reference for the scholarship is not required. Applicants may also submit a limited number of supporting documents, as they think appropriate.

Further Information

For entry in September 2016Kent Law School offers a number of scholarships to students who are liable to pay tuition fees at the Home/EU rate. The scholarships are open to applicants on the Kent LLM programme offered at the Canterbury Campus.The scholarship will provide tuition fees at the full Home/EU rate. For the academic year 2015/16, the Home/EU rate was £5,250. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence.The closing date for applications is Friday 6 May 2016. A decision will be taken as soon as possible after the closing date. Candidates who have not been contacted by 31 May 2016 can assume that they have not been successful.

Value of Scholarship(s)

£5,250 (in 2015/16)

Eligibility

The scholarship will provide tuition fees at the full Home/EU rate. For the academic year 2015/16, the Home/EU rate was £5,250. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence.

Application Procedure

An application must make a case for the award of the scholarship to the applicant. The case for the award of the scholarship should be between 1000 and 1500 words and should:*Describe the applicant’s academic achievements and performance in university studies *Discuss the applicant’s reasons for wishing to study for the Kent LLM *Outline the applicant’s financial circumstances, indicating in particular whether the scholarship will make a difference to the feasibility of studying at the University of Kent. All applicants are required to indicate how they intend to pay for living expenses and all other costs during their postgraduate studies.Further, students are asked to submit one piece of academic writing. This could be either a piece of coursework submitted for assessment at the applicant’s previous institution or it could be a 2,000 word essay written for this application on a topic of the applicant’s choosing. Applicants are reminded to ensure that their academic referees have submitted full references in support of their LLM application for a place on the programme. A separate reference for the scholarship is not required. Applicants may also submit a limited number of supporting documents, as they think appropriate.

Further Information

The Templeman Scholarship
-
Single Award

- Applicants must be University of Kent Graduates. - Applicants must already hold, or be expected to achieve, a first class honours degree from the University of Kent. - Applicants must have received, and accepted an offer for a full-time taught postgraduate degree (any subject) at the University of Kent for 2016-17. - Full-time UK (home), EU and overseas fee paying students are invited to apply.The deadline for this scholarship for 2016-17 has passed. Details for 2017-18 will be published here when available.

Value of Scholarship(s)

covers full-time taught postgraduate tuition fees for one year

Eligibility

This scholarship covers full-time taught postgraduate tuition fees for one year and is open to full-time home/EU or overseas fee-paying applicants.There is one Templeman Scholarship available each year.

Application Procedure

Applications should be made via your KentVision portal at: https://evision.kent.ac.ukYou will be asked to upload a covering letter '"Why I wish to pursue my chosen postgraduate degree at Kent".

Further Information

Entry Requirements

A first or good second class honours degree in law or a related subject. Kent Law School (KLS) may also take account of relevant work experience when considering applications. For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages (View Website)

Last Updated

08 August 2017

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